My research focuses on fungi of agricultural and medical importance, combining computational and experimental approaches. In addition to classical microbiological methods, our work integrates molecular biology, forward genetic screens, targeted mutagenesis and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, comparative phylogenomics, transcriptomics (RNA-seq), metabolomics, and lipidomics to investigate the genetic and molecular basis of fungal biology.

One area of research investigates plant-pathogenic fungi and the mycotoxins they produce, which pose significant risks to food safety and human health. We study how beneficial antagonistic microorganisms, particularly biocontrol yeasts belonging to the genera Papiliotrema, Rhodosporidium, and Sporobolomyces, can suppress pathogen development and reduce mycotoxin contamination. These yeasts have demonstrated the ability to degrade specific mycotoxins and to protect crops from fungal infections both during postharvest storage and under field conditions. Our goal is to identify the genetic basis of these beneficial traits and harness them to improve the efficacy of microbial biocontrol strategies.

Another research area investigates how filamentous fungi respond and adapt to abiotic stresses, particularly heat stress associated with climate change. We seek to uncover the genetic and physiological mechanisms that enable fungi to survive under challenging environmental conditions and to determine how these adaptations affect fungal fitness, host interactions, and pathogenicity. More recently, we have expanded our research to include root-associated endophytic fungi and their capacity to promote plant growth and enhance stress tolerance, with the long-term goal of developing sustainable microbial solutions to improve crop resilience in a changing climate.

We also study the basidiomycetous yeast Malassezia, which, despite being phylogenetically related to plant pathogens and biocontrol yeasts, is the dominant fungal commensal of human and animal skin. While Malassezia has long been associated with a variety of dermatological disorders, it has more recently been implicated in Crohn’s disease in patients carrying CARD9 mutations and has also emerged as an important modulator of host physiology. At the same time, growing evidence suggests that Malassezia can exert beneficial effects on its host. Our research aims to identify the fungal factors that govern the transition between beneficial, commensal and pathogenic lifestyles, with particular emphasis on the genetic regulation of hyphal development and the biosynthesis of indole-derived metabolites that activate the host aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR).